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Washington– U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of a missile-equipped submarine to the Middle East and reiterated the Joe Biden administration’s commitment to defend Israel, the Pentagon reported Sunday.
The order comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iran over the deaths of a Hamas leader and a Hezbollah commander.
In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder explained that Austin reiterated the U.S. commitment to “take every possible measure to defend Israel” in his remarks on Sunday.
In addition, Austin stressed that the United States’ military posture and capabilities have been strengthened throughout the Middle East “in light of growing regional tensions.”
Part of that commitment is the deployment of the guided-missile submarine Georgia to the region.
Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighter jets, to accelerate toward the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, adding to the response capability already provided by the USS Roosevelt.
Last week, the Pentagon announced that the USS Lincoln would arrive in the region later this month.
Tensions between Iran and Israel further increased when an attack on July 31 ended the life of former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while he was visiting Tehran, an incident Israel neither claimed nor denied.
Since then, and hours before the Israeli bombing in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s “number two” Fuad Shukr, the Middle East has been waiting for retaliation from Iran or Hezbollah for two attacks on Israeli territory.
Austin and Galante also discussed Israel’s actions in Gaza and the importance of mitigating harm to civilians. On Saturday, Israeli forces bombed a school that has become a shelter for people displaced by the war in the northern Gaza Strip, killing more than 100 people, according to the Hamas group that controls the Palestinian enclave. JS
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